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About Us
Think and Ink Grants® provides customized, real-world solutions to help your nonprofit “think” through grant-seeking strategies and “ink” competitive proposals.
Our work helps your nonprofit transform your grant-seeking strategy
to deepen your community impact.
We specialize in helping nonprofits supporting women, children, health, and education - the most vulnerable members of our society.
Our Seven Corporate Values
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We put our clients first- we work with you where you are and help you advance to where you want to be.
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We value and celebrate diversity in all forms through our clients, contractors, employees, and suppliers.
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We believe in the value of human connections: being connected with each other, our clients, our friends, and families, and our communities not only makes us better human beings but better employees.
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We believe in performing at a level of utmost excellence, for ourselves and for our clients.
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We believe in depositing good into the world and advancing philanthropy over personal gain.
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We are committed to ethical decision making and uphold codes of ethics as outlined by organizations that we are members of the Grant Professionals Association and the Association for Fundraising Professionals.
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We invest and are committed to improving our communities by volunteering our time, energy, and talents.
How We Work
Learn about our Think and Ink Grants® approach here:
Nonprofit Consulting and Grant Research
The first phase of our grant-seeking process is Nonprofit Consulting and Grant Research. In this phase, it’s important to be able to clearly articulate and define your organization with each specific funder in mind.
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Grant Writing
One thing you probably know is that funders are inundated with grant applications.
So, naturally, finding a way to stand out is important. That’s why we use a specific formula to create our Think and Ink Grants™ Competitive Proposals.
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Grant Management and Evaluation
What we’re about to share is one of the largest mistakes we see organizations make: Most organizations do not manage the funder relationship appropriately or set up the correct processes to keep funding relationships strong.
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Our Team
Our firm is proud to support the personal and professional growth of our team and all they do to help our clients.
Our team of consultants has years of experience in grant research, grant writing, nonprofit consulting, and grant management and evaluation support.
We uphold the professional standards and ethics set forth by the Grant Professionals Association and many of us are active members. Learn more about the Grant Professionals Association and our commitment to upholding professional standards here.
Shavonn Richardson, MBA, GPC
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Shavonn Richardson, MBA, GPC, is the Founder of Think and Ink Grants®. She has 18-years of experience as a grant writer, nonprofit leader, and federal grants reviewer. She has served as a nonprofit leader and co-founded the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization Blue Flowers Org in 2014. Shavonn also worked as a Corporate Social Responsibility Program Manager for Bank of America Foundation, where she helped distribute $1.3 million in grants and sponsorships to Atlanta nonprofits each year. Now she gets grants for her clients at Think and Ink Grant Consulting and has successfully leveraged over $25 million in funding.
Shavonn is one of less than 450 grant professionals nationwide to earn the GPC (Grant Professional Certified) credential. Administered by the Grant Professionals Certification Institute (GPCI), the GPC certification is based on rigorous standards and ongoing research to meet the real-world demands of grant professionals. GPC-credentialed grant professionals demonstrate excellence in the grants profession. Shavonn is also a Grant Professionals Association (GPA) Approved Trainer. She has served as a federal grants reviewer for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other agencies. She frequently speaks and trains grant professionals and nonprofit leaders across the country.
Shavonn serves on the Board of Directors for the Grant Professionals Association (GPA) and is a Forbes.com thought leader. Her volunteer work has included serving as Chair of the Southern Regional Grant Conference Social Media Committee and the Corporate Giving/Sponsorships and Grants Chair for the Junior League of Atlanta. In 2015, Shavonn's work was recognized by President Barack H. Obama and received the President's Volunteer Service Award from the Corporation for National and Community Service. In 2017, she was recognized as an Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Diversity Fellow.
Shavonn earned a BBA from Howard University in Washington, DC, and an MBA from Emory University in Atlanta, GA. In her spare time, Shavonn enjoys traveling, yoga, and spending time with her husband, two children, and dog Lynx.
Amanda Sorensen
Associate Grant Writer and Consultant
Amanda Sorensen, M.A. is a grant professional with a background in higher education grant work. Before working in the grants space, Amanda served in human resources and other administrative roles at John Brown University. She also previously worked for the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
Amanda is originally from the Midwest, but currently lives in Arkansas where she completed her Bachelor of Arts in History from John Brown University. The following year, she completed her Masters of Arts in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago.
Amanda is passionate about providing excellent customer service and helping others feel welcome and included in the grant process. She is also passionate about donor and foundation stewardship, finding creative and meaningful ways to cultivate relationships. In her spare time, Amanda enjoys showing dogs and reading historical fiction.
Kamaria Beamon
Grant Professional - Federal Grants
Kamaria is a social worker and creative writer who earned an MSW and Certificate in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from The University of Georgia and a B.A. in English/English Education from Xavier University of Louisiana. She is excited to be a part of the Think and Ink Grants team as a Grant Writing intern, gaining hands-on experience in non-profit consulting and grants management. Kamaria enjoys working with non-profits that focus on education, youth empowerment, families, and women's wellness. She also values self-care, and in her spare time she enjoys reading, cooking, hiking, and going to concerts.
Christine Taylor
Grant Professional - Women and Children Specialty
Christine Taylor is an articulate, organized, and persuasive grant writer with more than six years of experience in assisting non-profit organizations and government agencies identify, apply for, and receive significant external funding from foundations and other sources. She is accustomed to researching and analyzing strategic, and operational issues to convert them into actionable fundraising opportunities that align with broader organizational objectives. Christine is known for clear, factual, and supportable proposals that maximize the chances of obtaining funding. She possesses xceptional interpersonal, communications and collaborative liaison skills.
Jackie Indek Beres
Grant Professional- Fundraising Specialty
Jackie Indek Beres is an accomplished non-profit professional with over 15 years of success in relationship-based fundraising for nationally recognized organizations, including the Brookings Institution, the American Society of International Law, the Anti-Defamation League- Southeast Region, and Make-A-Wish Georgia. During her career as a Development Director, she managed year-end and mid-year giving strategies and promoted philanthropic engagement by educating donors and community activists on the impact of their investment.
As a major gifts and individual giving officer, she collaborated with a cross-section of program teams to create cultivation materials, grant proposals and stewardship collateral for foundations, mid-level and major donors. Jackie graduated with a B.A. from the University of Georgia and resides in Atlanta with her husband and their elementary-aged son.
In her spare time, you can find her helping out at her son's school or trying out new recipes in the kitchen.
Dr. Jerome Schiele
Evaluator
Jerome H. Schiele is a Professor and Chair of the PhD Department in the School of Social Work at Morgan State University. A native of Hampton, Virginia, Dr. Schiele received his bachelor's degree in sociology from Hampton University in 1983, and attained both his master's and doctoral degrees in social work from Howard University. Dr. Schiele has 30 years of higher education experience and has served in both faculty and administrative positions. Before arriving at Morgan State University, he was Professor and Dean of the College of Professional Studies at Bowie State University and a Professor and Associate Dean in the School of Social Work at the University of Georgia. He also has taught and served in administrative roles at Norfolk State University, Clark Atlanta University, and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He also previously served as Professor and inaugural Director of the PhD program in social work at Morgan State University.
Dr. Schiele’s research focuses on social policy analysis, racial oppression, and cultural diversity/competence. He has published numerous scholarly articles, essays, and book chapters, which appear in major academic periodicals and publications. Dr. Schiele also is author of the book, Human Services and the Afrocentric Paradigm (The Haworth Press, 2000—now Routledge Press), editor of the book, Social Welfare Policy: Regulation and Resistance among People of Color (Sage Publications, 2011; Cognella Press, 2nd. Ed., 2020), and co-author with Phyllis Day of the book, A New History of Social Welfare, 7th edition (Pearson Publishers, 2013).
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